1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to flash memories, and more particularly to flash memory apparatuses, methods for operating the same and data storage systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flash memories, which may keep stored data without power supply voltage applied thereto, have advantages such as speedy operation and low power consumption. Thus, flash memories are commonly applied as storage media, e.g., memory cards and pen drives, for various electronic products, such as mobile phones, digital cameras, personal digital assistants (PDA), and notebook computers.
Generally, when a flash memory apparatus with a flash memory (such as a memory card) is coupled to a host (such as a mobile phone), the host operates the flash memory apparatus by sending various defined commands of the memory card. That is, a controller in the flash memory apparatus may perform transition of operation states of the flash memory apparatus according to commands sent from the host, thereby performing operations of parameter configuration or data transmission. Conventionally, a state machine is implemented in a flash memory apparatus for executing various commands defined in the memory card specification and performing transition of the operation states. Further, logic circuits for operating the state machine may be configured by use of programming tools, such as Verilog languages, to become a specialized integrated circuit after tape-out process.
However, after the tape-out process, a specialized integrated circuit may not be able to be directly modified when the memory card specification is revised. In this case, it is necessary for the Verilog language to be revised and modify the logic circuits for operating the state machine to again, perform the tape-out process. Thus, the method is inflexibility, time-consuming, and increases the cost for the tape-out process.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved flash memory apparatus and an operating method thereof, capable of being modified more flexibly based on memory card specification revisions without further modifying the logic circuits and performing the tape-out process.